KOL vs. Arctic Monkeys (intro)

There comes a time in every young man's life when he just has to say 'fuck it'. This past September, in the year of our lord two thousand and nine, was one of those times for yours truly. Money is always tight, now that I'm not living with mummy and daddy, but I couldn't pass on one of my old favorites (KOL) and a new favorite (Arctic Monkeys) who would both be in Columbus about the same time. Bottom line is sometimes you just have to make life worth living, no matter how strapped for cash you are. If you don't, then your just bidding your time, until it's your turn to go.

I hatched my plan like all good plans are hatched; on the fly ...

For going on three months I'd been dating a girl named Abby. We were both hugely into music, and we had talked about going to a show together. I had expressed interest in seeing the Kings of Leon at the Shottenstein Center, but good seats were upwards of $100, way out of my price range. Abby worked a better job than either of mine and mentioned she had been pondering a splurge. She said she loved the Kings as well so we decided we would try to figure something out.

After we both got our shifts covered the night of the show, she decided to pick up two cheap seats ($45 a pop, it was sure to sell out). I told her I would be thrilled to accompany her. The gig date was set for Wednesday, Sept. 23rd, and I was foaming at the mouth with anticipation. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I wasn't keen on Kings until Only by the Night came out last fall. For me, like a lot of people, Sex on Fire changed the game. It got me listening. As a result, over the last year or so, I have gone back, defaulting to the bands earlier albums. They sound NOTHING like their newest release, which isn't a good thing or a bad thing. It's like comparing old Beatles to new Beatles; white chocolate to dark chocolate. Both are wonderful in contrasting ways; different as night and day. Regardless, I've become a serious fan of ALL their music.

Only days after our KOL conversation, I was stopped at a red light on High Street and saw that Arctic Monkeys would be playing Sept. 28th at Newport Music Hall. Shooter had recently introduced me to them, which is really the only reason I noticed. Not even a week before, he burned me a copy of Whatever People say I am, That's What I'm Not. It was literally playing in my cd player when I saw the marquee. It was fast becoming on of my top 25 albums of all time. After one listen, top to bottom, I walked to Magnolia Thunder Pussy Records and purchased more of their catalogue. I decided to spring for these tickets myself since they were only $25 apiece.

Abby said she was working that night, so I decided to worry about whom to take later. Throwing caution to the wind, I put one ticket on my nearly maxed out credit card and used my debit card to procure the other.I had done the math. After the surcharge cleared, I would have $20 in my account. That's $20 to live on for a week before my next check went in. Good thing my gas tank was still half full. "Think rich, look poor," as Andy Warhol would say. Well, I had the looking/being poor thing down for sure.

With my itinerary set and my work schedule coordinated, attending both shows, less than a seven days apart, was going to become a reality. It would be one hell of a week to finish out the month. I decided to do a write-up on each gig, comparing and contrasting them. They would be squaring off in some sort of rock 'n' roll royal rumble, on the posted page. My goal was not to dictate which band was "better" but rather which overall experience I liked the most, while weighing the pros and cons of each. I would evaluate both events on four criteria: venue (look and overall feel), performance (including set lists), crowd (reactions and intensity), and last but not least adventure index (how much fun did I have, a lot or a little). The shows would get a report card, with a grade of A, B, C, D, or F in every category. I would than average out the scores, giving me a final grade for each.

The following posts are my personal accounts. Please bear in mind these are just my opinions, and they are not definitive. Anyone in attendance at either event could have viewed things differently, and no doubt did. For the most part, all my comments (music related and otherwise) were just how I was feeling at the time these posts were written, and not necessarily how I feel now. Keep reading. I'll keep writing, and as always, enjoy.

-J.R.